Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
WHAT IS HYPERBARIC OXYGEN?
"Hyper" means an increase in the quantity or quality of something; "baric" means pressure. Combined with "oxygen," these two terms add up to one of the most exciting new developments in medicine: hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Using pure oxygen under increased pressure, the body's natural ability to heal from traumas, diseases and other afflictions is enhanced - and in many cases, is accelerated.
A Brief History
HBOT has been in use since the mid-1800s. It began when an anesthesiologist postulated that by increasing the levels of oxygen in operating rooms, patients would be able to heal faster. Unfortunately, while there were some modest benefits, HBOT began to be touted as a universal cure-all, and more. It was promised to do everything from restoring men's hair to enlarging women's breasts - yet it failed to deliver. This was the start of the "bad press" that HBOT received, some of which carries on to this day. The more accepted uses of HBOT through most of this century have been in relation to saving the lives of SCUBA divers stricken with decompression sickness, or "the bends" (a potentially fatal condition, that occurs when the diver returns to the surface too quickly).
HBO Today
During modern HBOT, the patient breathes pure, 100% oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure. The air we normally breathe contains only 19-21% of this essential element; via HBOT, the concentration of pure oxygen dissolved into the bloodstream is dramatically increased (up to 2,000%), with virtually no energy expenditure. In addition to the blood, all body fluids - including the vital lymph and cerebrospinal fluids - are infused with the healing benefits of this molecular oxygen. This oxygen can then: (a) reach bone and tissue which are inaccessible to red blood cells, (b) enhance white blood cell function, and (c) promote the formation of new capillary and peripheral blood vessels. The result is increased infection control, and faster healing of a wide range of conditions.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is recognized as being successful in helping patients suffering from some of the most debilitating brain conditions. HBOT is particularly suitable for treating children with neurological conditions and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, anoxic ischemic encephalopathy, autism, developmental delays and stroke. While HBOT is not a “cure-all”, the indications for its use continue to grow.
Regardless of whether the brain's injury is traumatic (accidental) or vascular (stroke), all share a resulting destruction of brain cells, and the formation of "idling" neurons. Recent studies support the hypothesis that traumatic, vascular and anoxic brain injuries all have a common pathology, which includes the possibility of recoverable brain tissue.
HBOT can be used as an adjunct to physical rehabilitation. It has greatly improved the functioning of many patients, by reactivating the idling neurons surrounding the most severely damaged or oxygen-deficient areas of their brains.
When professionally administered soon after an accident, HBOT can drastically reduce the amount of injury. However, patients suffering from brain damage have benefited from HBOT, even years after their incidents occurred.
You can also find some detailed information on 60+ conditions that hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been successful in treating here.